STILL HOOKED ON A FEELING // A FILM REVIEW OF "GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2"
There's an old saying that goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Movie sequels often go by this logic and more often than not, they don't match up to what made the original so special. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOLUME 2 follows this same logic; same cast of misfits, new space adventure, same writer/director. But while it might fall slightly short of the magic of the first, it's only due to the fact that we've already met them once. There's a lot of magic left in this team of heroes.
Volume 2 starts out with a great credit sequence of chaos, much like the first film. This time the whole team (Star-lord, Gamora, Rocket, Drax, and an oblivious to the battle Baby Groot) is fighting, along with a now Baby Groot, who's oblivious to the action. Groot, it should be said, stays a baby for the entire time and it NEVER grows old. Truly comic gold. They are fighting to get a valuable group of batteries away from a huge monster, the Abilisk. If they get the batteries, they can trade them for the release of Nebula (Karen Gillan), the sister of Gamora (Zoe Saldana) from a space colony known as The Sovereigns. They do indeed grab the batteries, but as they're leaving realize that Rocket has decided to steal them as well, so they go after the Guardians to get them back. Let's just say they're not too happy about it.
The Sovereigns are lead by Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) and she hires the Guardians old Frenemy Yondu (Michael Rooker) to bring them to her. But his reluctance to kill the Guardians doesn't bode well for this search and destroy (it's really hard NOT to like Michael Rooker). While the "will he or won't he" internal battle is going on, The Guardians end up meeting Peter Quill's (AKA Star-Lord) father, the Celestial being named Ego the Living Planet (Kurt Russell). From there the movie kicks off into a hellava space ride and goes totally weird and bonkers, in the very best way.
Writer/Director James Gunn nails the tone and humor again without ever feeling like we have "been there, done that." The cast and their rhythms rival any super hero franchise out there and the added story for Nebula really gives Gillian a chance to shine (Her scenes with Saldana are all great). Everyone seems to step up their game here, including Bradley Cooper's motion capture performance, which is not only hilarious but emotionally satisfying. And lest we not forget Kurt Russell, the man who steps onto any film set and makes it better. He's fantastic as Ego and, though there isn't much I can say without spoiling this entire review, his performance and relationship with Chris Pratt is right on target. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOLUME 2 is absolutely worth it, and really gets you excited to see these space pirates start playing with the Avengers crew soon (Oh Infinity War. Can't you come any quicker...?). Also make sure you stay for the 70 additional scenes during & after the credits (okay, maybe there isn't 70 but there's a lot). They range from the important (brush up on those 80's comic references kids) to the hilarious (two words: Teenage Groot).